ScanTheSun: A Tool for Solar-Panel Users

In the ideal case of an individual installation, solar panels are mounted on the southern pitch of a roof of buildings with high insolation. (See “Vocabulary” for the definition of insolation and a few other words used in this article.) These conditions are fulfilled for houses without shading sources in the vicinity, where the area of the southern part of the roof dominates. However, even detached houses are often surrounded by trees or other kinds of greenery. In the city, neighboring buildings often cause additional shadowing of the sunlight (see Figure 1).